


Branch By Branch, It Came Together

by hisen



Category: Naruto
Genre: Anbu Hatake Kakashi, Anbu Yamato | Tenzou, Birthday, Birthday Fluff, Gen, Pre-Canon, Senpai-Kouhai Relationship, Social Anxiety, Teasing, learning social skills
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:34:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25772926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hisen/pseuds/hisen
Summary: Tenzo knows that birthdays exist but for him it's just a line on a form, something that gives you an age. Why would other people celebrate it?On his fifteenth birthday, he finds out why.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi & Yamato | Tenzou
Comments: 4
Kudos: 46





	Branch By Branch, It Came Together

**Author's Note:**

> Shameless fluff for my best boy on his birthday, set while he's working out exactly what social norms are. Happy birthday, Tenzo!

The laughter makes Tenzo curious. He's not used to people laughing in the locker room, to lightness before missions. So much of the work is the same as it was in Root, it makes the differences even more jarring. Tenzo looks over at the group crowded around their captain, who looks exasperated but amused at her laughing team.

"You guys! Ugh, I'm never going to live that down, am I?" The laughter starts again as she lifts something out of the small silver gift box. It's a vacuum packet of udon noodles. 

"In case you need to stall again!" It doesn't seem funny to him, but they look like they're having fun. It must be teamwork? It looks like teamwork. 

"Ah, these are the limited edition ones for July, how did you get them?" The captain lifts a small bag of sweets in extravagant cellophane wrapping out of the box and her eyes are shining. 

"You didn't really think you'd only get udon, did you? Happy birthday!" She pulls the small box close to her chest and smiles widely with delight. Tenzo doesn't completely understand why they did it, but he can recognise it's made her happy. 

"Thank you, everyone. You really shouldn't have, I'm so happy!" Tenzo finally looks away and focuses on his kit again. There's so much he still doesn't know. The things that everyone else seemed to be born knowing or were taught in some lesson he never got. He knows that birthdays exist, didn't know that people got gifts from others on them. For him it's just a line on a form, something that gives you an age. Why would other people celebrate it? It's one of those things that seems so self-evident to everyone else that he can't ask, from the embarrassment of admitting how little he knows about the obvious things that everyone else knows, how people laugh when he's admitted to as much before but still didn't explain. It makes him feel like an impostor. Like he's playing at being a human and if he fails to do it convincingly he'll be kicked out of the circle of humanity. 

A hand on his head makes him look up, breaks him out of his thoughts.

"If you think too hard, you'll go bald." That sounds unlikely, but as much as it might be Kakashi making up something for fun, it might also be true. Kakashi's face doesn't give anything away, and Tenzo is left uncertain to if this is teasing or not. Tenzo knows so much about ninjutsu, and nothing about about social norms like small talk, or teasing. 

"Have you got our next mission, senpai?" 

"Sure. Oh, is it her birthday?" Kakashi's distracted by the other team, crowding around their captain, still joking with each other. His hand lifts off Tenzo's head as he watches them. 

"I believe so." It's a reply that makes Kakashi look at him closely. His face gives nothing away about what he's expecting to see on Tenzo's face. 

"Do you like birthdays?" Tenzo shrugs as he finishes putting his happuri on. "You do know what birthdays are, right?" Tenzo slams his locker door shut, gives Kakashi a severe look that might be effective if Kakashi's eye watching him so closely didn't make his cheeks go red. For all of the Sharingan's power to perceive the truth, Kakashi seems to do it well enough with his own eye, no trickery required.

"Of course I know what birthdays are." Technically true, which makes it not a lie. The gift giving associated with it might be new, but the concept of a birthday is familiar.

"Hmm. Good, because I'm expecting something nice from my kouhais this year. Don't let me down, Tenzo." He has no idea what Kakashi would like for his birthday, or what sort of gifts he's supposed to give. It sounds like udon is not a normal gift...but then again, it might be. Maybe everyone is supposed to get udon on their birthday and he has no idea. 

This might also be teasing though. 

"Can you be serious?" It's a lost cause to ask, he knows it. Kakashi is only serious when he wants to be, not when he needs to be. 

"Hah, you think I was joking? I'm dead serious. I'll give you a pay cut if you don't give me something good." 

"You can't do that." That much he knows for sure. Kakashi pats the top of his head, a gesture he accepts without really recognising it as he takes the mission briefing out of Kakashi's other hand. He skims over it. A two man assassination, a normal ANBU mission. "We should get going, senpai." Kakashi drops his hand from Tenzo's hand with a sigh.

"So not cute." When Kakashi says that, he wonders what he means. How is he supposed to be cute? He's only just learning to be a real person, cute is far beyond him. Is it disappointing that he isn't? He glances up from the briefing at Kakashi, trying to work out what he wants from him. Is he disappointing Kakashi? It's hard to tell. "Relax. You're doing fine." Kakashi turns away, shuts his locker door too. "Let's go."

This part he understands perfectly.

* * *

"Happy birthday!" Tenzo pauses, his head buried in his locker. That must be for someone else, right? He works out the dates in his head, and realises that it's August Tenth. Oh, it is his birthday, he completely forgot. Slowly he pulls his head out of his locker with his kitbag safely in his hands, before shutting the door and turning around. He doesn't know exactly what he's supposed to do with the other members of the team standing behind him. They look eager and one of them is holding a gift bag. Is that for him? Is he supposed to take it or wait? 

"Thank you."

"Jeez, did you forget it's your birthday? That's sad." Tenzo recoils a little, forces an apologetic smile that sits uneasily on his face. He desperately wishes he knew what he was supposed to do next. Is he supposed to say thank you again? Take the gift now? He shifts his kitbag to one hand, and that's apparently the cue everyone else was waiting for as the handle of the gift bag is put into his free hand. He opens the bag enough to look inside it, hopes they didn't get him a gift that he's supposed to find funny. Inside the bag is a flowering cactus, along with an envelope and a small bag of candied walnuts. 

This doesn't look like a gag gift. He likes plants and a cactus is hardy enough to survive when he's away and can't water it. This time the smile on his face is more natural as he looks up from the bag. The growing sense of anticipation he can sense around the others makes him falter a little, but he decides to speak his mind. 

"This is very kind. I really like them, thank you." He smiles again, hopes it's a good answer, and from the collective release of the tension around him, it feels like it was. 

"You're welcome. Happy birthday!" Tenzo looks down at the bag again, peeks in at the plant again. The thought that his teammates remembered the day when even he forgot, remembered him and made an effort to get him something they thought he'd like makes warmth spread in his chest. It's the first time that he remembers receiving any gift like this, or anyone else remembering his birthday. It feels nice to be acknowledged.

"Tenzo." The call of his name makes him look up from his bag, the smile still on his face. "We need to go, we'll drop your present off at home on the way there." Tenzo nods, follows Kakashi over to the door. He expects other team members to follow, but they stay where they are. One of them gives Tenzo a casual wave.

"It's just you and the Captain today. Be nice to him!" Tenzo wonders if he's being asked that, before Kakashi gives a deep sigh.

"What are you implying? I'm always nice to Tenzo." The other team member looks at Kakashi, makes a loud 'hmm' in response before turning away. Kakashi rubs at the back of his neck, before looking at Tenzo again. "Come on, let's go."

* * *

The mission they're on is very mysterious. Kakashi won't tell him what they're going to do when they arrive at their destination, a little town by the sea. He saw that they have civilian clothes, which suggests they're going undercover, but Kakashi brushes him off when he tries to get any further details out of him.

"Just wait and see." Tenzo likes to be prepared for missions, it makes it easier to deal with unexpected situations. Sometimes Kakashi will be helpful, sometimes he'll just fly by the seat of his pants. Today is the latter. 

Kakashi hasn't acknowledged his birthday either. Perhaps he forgot it just like he did. It shouldn't, but it stings a little after the rest of their team remembered. 

When they arrive on the outskirts of the town, the sun is lower in the sky, though it's still a couple more hours until sunset. 

"Okay. We'll get changed here, and then we'll go into the town." Tenzo waits for further details, only to get a yukata thrown at him. He catches it with ease, shakes it out and checks the sizing of it. It should fit him, which is all that matters on a mission. It'll be a fitting disguise for pretending to be normal people. 

"And then?" He finally prompts. Kakashi ignores it, takes off his armour instead and packs it away before he starts putting his own yukata on over his under-shirt. 

"Come on, get ready." Tenzo sighs but turns away and starts to change with his back turned to Kakashi. When he turns back, Kakashi is fully changed too, his mask still covering the bottom half of his face but otherwise, looking relaxed. It's a convincing disguise, in that Kakashi looks like he's ready to relax on a summer day. The silver and blue yukata is much more striking than his own green one. He feels a little uncomfortable in it, despite knowing it'll work as a disguise, pats down his sleeves to make sure all his weapons are safely there and ready for anything. 

"Ready. What's the mission?"

"I'll tell you once we're in the town." It's evasive even by Kakashi's standards. The carefully crafted expression on Kakashi's face says he's not going to get any answers out of him, and Tenzo decides that he'll just have to trust him. He does trust him. It's just he can't figure out Kakashi's methods. 

As they walk into the town and towards the sea front, the wind blows cool, salty air into Tenzo's face. It feels refreshing after how hot it was in Konoha, and Tenzo inhales it deeply. He shouldn't be distracted by it when he's on a mission, but it feels pleasant. Kakashi walks a step or two ahead of him, keeps an eye on him to make sure he's following until Kakashi stops outside of a stall selling grilled fish. The cooking fish smells so good that it makes Tenzo's mouth water. Kakashi turns to him with a smile.

"Okay, we'll stop here first."

"Senpai, we're on a mission." It's no time to get distracted by food, even if it smells delicious.

"Oh, you didn't figure it out yet? There's no mission." What? The revelation makes Tenzo blink, and then frown. What are they doing here then? 

"What do you mean there's no mission?"

"I asked the Third to give us a day off. He wasn't keen but I twisted his arm. I pointed out that you'd never celebrated your birthday before and you were too dutiful to ask for a day off yourself."

"You didn't..." Mortification rushes through him and worry that he's going to have the Third angry at him because Kakashi did something he didn't even ask for. Kakashi beams at him.

"I did. Don't worry, he admitted it'd be good for you to have a real birthday now you're learning how to fit in. So, happy birthday. I'll even pay for this, my treat." There's still a little worry in him about getting in trouble later, but the relief that he's not in trouble now, and even more importantly, that Kakashi didn't forget his birthday eclipses that worry. This time the smile on his face isn't forced in the slightest, in fact it hurts his cheeks a little from being so wide. 

"Thank you, Kakashi-senpai." Kakashi reaches out and ruffles his hair, he shuts his eyes as Kakashi does it, a little overwhelmed. Not only did Kakashi remember, he's made an effort to do something special for him, to take him away far away from Konoha and its demands for one day. Combined with the gifts and thoughts of his teammates, Tenzo feels like he might be starting to understand why people celebrate birthdays.

"It's the least I could do. C'mon, let's get something to eat."

"Welcome!" The owner greets them from behind the bar as they enter, lifting the flaps over their heads. 

"You have mackerel, right?"

"Freshly caught today!" Tenzo gets the suspicion that Kakashi's decision to take him here is not purely altruistic as they take their seats at the bar. 

"Is that why you chose this?" 

"Mm, who can say?" Kakashi could, if he wanted to, but he's not going to. Tenzo picks up the menu as the sea breeze stirs a set of wind chimes by the entrance. Ordering food is something he's managed to learn quickly, it's a nice easy transaction. The owner asks him what he'd like, he says the sea bass and that's it. No other complicated things he's expected to do alongside it. 

The sizzle of the fish on the grill makes him feel ravenous. He looks over at Kakashi, who looks distracted until he catches his eye, and it curves into a smile. The water the owner pours them is cooling after the heat of their journey, just like the yukata.

"Why did you pick the yukata?" Kakashi gives Tenzo a look that makes him suddenly feel foolish, like this is one of those things he's supposed to know without being told. Kakashi shrugs, turns to pull down his mask enough to drink some of his water. 

"It's summer, and they're refreshing. It's good to do something different." 

Until recently, something different wasn't ever something good. It meant something had gone wrong or didn't work properly. The difference was never good, usually something worse. Even out of Root, it still meant that or the much less lethal difference of trying to connect. The difference of socialising, of interacting with others for more than just missions, of trying to be more of a person and all the challenges that's brought.

Today is something different too, but not like that. It's a good difference. 

"I guess so." It feels strange to say it, but it is a good difference. The grilled sea bass is placed in front of him with a flourish, and the way his stomach growls in response nearly makes him miss the way Kakashi smiles at his answer. Nearly.

* * *

The sun starts to set over the sea as they sit on the end of the pier that juts out into the sea. Red and pink streak the sky as the sun grows larger, as it starts to drop into the sea. It looks like it'll put it out, like a match dropped into water. 

"So how was your birthday?" Tenzo looks at the purple clouds drifting in the sky before his eyes drop down to the shimmering sea, trying to draw his thoughts together. 

"It was really special. I've never had anything like it before." When they're sitting next to each other like this, watching the sun set, he feels comfortable enough to admit it. Kakashi went to all the effort of arranging today, it doesn't feel like he'll laugh at him for admitting that he's never experienced a birthday before, with anyone paying such careful attention to him as Kakashi did today. Like his teammates did. 

"Thought so. I didn't even think about it before until I saw how confused you were by that captain's birthday." A seagull cries overhead as Kakashi pauses, flexes his fingers as he stretches. "I don't know what normal is either, but I've at least celebrated my birthday before. It's the kind of thing that helps build connections."

The sunlight glitters off the crest of the waves. In this moment, Tenzo feels like he's a real person, doing a real person thing like enjoying his birthday. It doesn't feel forced or awkward. It feels natural and comfortable to be here. Kakashi is probably right, that he doesn't know what normal is either, whatever that might be. But it feels like Kakashi dropped his arm, used it to pull him into the circle of humanity. He's learning what being a person of his own, not just a weapon for the mission and nothing else, might be like. The thought makes him smile widely again, a little giddy. "I feel like a real person." For all his teasing, Kakashi will understand what he means by it. 

"You always were, but it's good that you feel it now too." Tenzo breathes in that sea air deeply, as the wind blows through his hair and tangles it up. Tenzo hardly notices it. Always a real person, huh. He doesn't feel like he was, but he can learn. He's learning. It feels possible with someone like Kakashi supporting him. "Many happy returns, Tenzo." That wide smile fits on his face again as he turns to look at Kakashi again. 

"Thank you." That warmth in his heart again.

"You do know you'll have to get me something nice for my birthday now, right?" Tenzo laughs, though he is going to make an effort when it comes. He wants to make it special for Kakashi like today is for him. Is that why people celebrate other people's birthdays? Because they want to make them feel special? It still seems like a strange concept, but it's one he's warming up to. It doesn't feel forced or awkward to imagine it, wanting to make someone else happy. It's part of being a real person that sits comfortably inside his chest.


End file.
